Protein kinases, the largest family of human enzymes, encompass well over 500 proteins. Btk is a member of the Tee family of tyrosine kinases, and is a regulator of early B-cell development, as well as mature B-cell activation, signaling and survival.
B-cell signaling through the B-cell receptor (BCR) leads to a wide range of biological outputs, which in turn depend on the developmental stage of the B-cell. The magnitude and duration of BCR signals must be precisely regulated. Aberrant BCR-mediated signaling can cause disregulated B-cell activation and/or the formation of pathogenic auto-antibodies leading to multiple autoimmune and/or inflammatory diseases. Mutation of Btk in humans results in X-linked agammaglobulinaemia (XLA). This disease is associated with the impaired maturation of B-cells, diminished immunoglobulin production, compromised T-cell-independent immune responses and marked attenuation of the sustained calcium signaling upon BCR stimulation.
Evidence for the role of Btk in allergic disorders and/or autoimmune disease and/or inflammatory disease has been established in Btk-deficient mouse models. For example, in standard murine preclinical models of systemic lupus erythematosus (SU), Btk deficiency has been shown to result in a marked amelioration of disease progression. Moreover, Btk deficient mice are also resistant to developing collagen-induced arthritis and are less susceptible to Staphylococcus-induced arthritis.
A large body of evidence supports the role of B-cells and the humoral immune system in the pathogenesis of autoimmune and/or inflammatory diseases. Protein-based therapeutics (such as RITUXAN®) developed to deplete B-cells, represent an important approach to the treatment of a number of autoimmune and/or inflammatory diseases. Because of Btk's role in B-cell activation, inhibitors of Btk can be useful as inhibitors of B-cell mediated pathogenic activity (such as autoantibody production).
Btk is also expressed in mast cells and monocytes and has been shown to be important for the function of these cells. For example, Btk deficiency in mice is associated with impaired IgE-mediated mast cell activation (marked diminution of TNT-alpha and other inflammatory cytokine release), and Btk deficiency in humans is associated with greatly reduced TNF-alpha production by activated monocytes.
Thus, inhibition of Btk activity can be useful for the treatment of allergic disorders and/or autoimmune and/or inflammatory diseases including, but not limited to: SLE, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple vasculitides, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), myasthenia gravis, allergic rhinitis, multiple sclerosis (MS), transplant rejection, Type I diabetes, membranous nephritis, inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune hemolytic anemia, autoimmune thyroiditis, cold and warm agglutinin diseases, Evan's syndrome, hemolytic uremic syndrome/thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (HUS/TTP), sarcoidosis, Sjögren's syndrome, peripheral neuropathies (e.g., Guillain-Barre syndrome), pemphigus vulgaris, and asthma.
In addition, Btk has been reported to play a role in controlling B-cell survival in certain B-cell cancers. For example, Btk has been shown to be important for the survival of BCR-Abl-positive B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells. Thus inhibition of Btk activity can be useful for the treatment of B-cell lymphoma and leukemia.
In view of the numerous conditions that are contemplated to benefit by treatment involving modulation of protein kinases, it is immediately apparent that new compounds capable of modulating protein kinases such as Btk and methods of using these compounds should provide substantial therapeutic benefits to a wide variety of patients.
Inhibitors of protein kinases are widely sought and small molecule compounds capable of modulating protein kinases have been reported. Among them, substituted pyrazolopyridines are disclosed as useful protein kinase inhibitors in PCT Publication Nos. WO 2004/113303, WO 2005/110410, WO 2006/077319, WO 2006/440187, WO 2006/050109, WO 2006/077168, WO 2006/063805, WO 2007/144202 and WO 2007/144204. In addition, WO 2008/033858 discloses methods of inhibiting Btk activity with various Btk binding chemical compounds. The compounds described in the present invention are substituted azaindazoles distinguishable from those in the aforementioned references in that they do not contain a urea moiety.
Thus, the present invention relates to a new class of compounds useful as protein kinases inhibitors, especially Btk inhibitors. These novel compounds are provided to be useful as pharmaceuticals with desirable stability, bioavailability, therapeutic index and toxicity values that are important to their drugability.